Army Sgt. Daniel Perry guilty of murdering protester Garrett Foster

Army sergeant Daniel Perry was found guilty Friday by a Texas jury of fatally shooting Black Lives Matter protester and Air Force veteran Garrett Foster during a demonstration in 2020.

He could be sentenced Tuesday, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Texts from Perry stating he “might have to kill a few people” he claimed were “rioting” outside his apartment, as well as one reading “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters,” were used by prosecutors to argue the defendant was looking for trouble in the weeks leading up to his deadly run-in with the Black Lives Matter protester, the Austin Chronicle reported.

A friend of Perry’s messaged him weeks before the murder to say: “Shooting after creating an event where you have to shoot, is not a good shoot.”

When the verdict was read Friday, Perry, 37, reportedly buried his head in his lawyer’s chest and bawled.

Perry argued self-defense in the incident, which occurred during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin. His lawyers argued Foster — armed with an AK-47 — approached his car with a group in tow, causing him to feel threatened.

Perry told police that Foster, 28, pointed his AK-47 at him. Witnesses said Foster never raised his rifle, the American-Statesman reported. Perry fatally shot the man with a revolver. He did not testify in his own defense.

The prosecution said when Foster was shot, the safety on his rifle was in place and there was no bullet in the weapon’s chamber, according to the Chronicle.

Perry’s trial began on March 28. He was reportedly acquitted on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The case bore similarities to that of teen gunman Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two Black Lives Matter protesters during an August 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisc.

In that case, the victims were unarmed and Rittenhouse was acquitted. He’s since become a public speaker and right-wing media star.

Jurors in the Perry case were asked to consider whether the defendant drove his car toward the group of roughly 20 protesters in an aggressive manner. Some demonstrators said they heard squealing tires before Perry found himself in the middle of a tense situation.

Right-wing activists have been known to use automobiles against civil rights protesters. Neo-Nazi James Fields was arrested in August 2017 after killing activist Heather Heyer with his Dodge Charger during a demonstration in Charlottesville, Va., where conservatives fought to stop monuments honoring Confederate soldiers from being removed from public spaces.